we are dealing with an on-going surge in global energy, food and commodity prices. an existential crisis in the eurozone. and a banking collapse which, more than four years on, is still blocking the arteries of our entire economic system. ranged against these forces, the idea that if government just deregulated a bit more as liam fox proposes, or borrowed and spent a bit more as ed balls proposes, we would, at a stroke, achieve strong and lasting growth, is just not credible. in my experience, if you're being attacked by liam fox from one side, and ed balls from the other, you're in the right place. [applause] you see, what is needed -- and what we're delivering -- is a plan that is tough enough to keep the bond markets off our backs, yet flexible enough to support demand. a plan that allowed us, when the forecast worsened last year, to reject calls for further spending cuts or tax rises and balance the budget over a longer timescale. a plan that, even at the end of this parliament, will see public spending account for 42 per cent of gdp -- higher than at any point